Primary

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s itinerary -- meetings with core Republican activists, stops at colleges, and a speech at an event celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps – was very much that of a candidate.

In his remarks at the Marine event, Perry cited Russia, Iran, and ISIS, as reasons why the U.S. cannot afford a foreign policy, that is, as he put it, “lacking in clarity.”

The leading candidates for U.S. Senate met for debates Thursday in North Conway.

The debate, hosted by the Mount Washington Valley Economic Council, ranged from Obamacare to medical marijuana, from the Veteran's Affairs to the National Security Agency. And with the increasing instability in the Middle East the candidates spent plenty of time airing their views on the situation in Iraq.

The University of New Hampshire is opening up its class on the state's leadoff presidential primary to a wider audience through a Massive Open Online Course. The course will be offered in the fall of 2015 and will build on a popular class the university has offered for the last several election cycles. Those participating from afar will be able to watch lectures and presentations from classroom guests and join in on discussions. They won't earn college credit, and the university is still deciding how much they will be charged.

In the North Country Millsfield wants to regain a spot it held six decades ago: Being the first place to vote in the presidential election.

That goes back to just after midnight in November 1952 when the seven voters of Millsfield, which straddles Route 26 between Errol and the Dixville, cast the first votes in the presidential election, according to Time magazine article.

Utah lawmakers have advanced a bill that would move the state’s presidential primary ahead of New Hampshire’s.

Legislation approved by the House Monday gives lawmakers the option of holding an online election, provided it is “held before any other caucus, primary, or other event selecting a nominee in the nation.”

If approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Gary Herbert, the bill, HB 410, would require the state to fund the Western State Primary, at an estimated cost of $1.6 million.

February 28th marks thirty years since the 1984 New Hampshire presidential primary. The ’84 election is often overlooked today – mostly because the general election saw Republican President Ronald Reagan beat Democrat Walter Mondale in a landslide - and yet, the 1984 primary was fairly influential.

Today marks thirty years since the 1984 New Hampshire primary. It’s a contest not well remembered today – on the Republican side, President Ronald Reagan was running essentially unopposed, and the man who won the Democratic nomination, Walter Mondale, not only lost the New Hampshire primary, he lost the general election in a landslide.

Characterized by partisan gridlock, grandstanding and an unwillingness to compromise, the 113th Congress is well on its way to becoming the least productive legislature in American history. Elected officials increasingly hail from the ideological fringes of their respective parties, leaving little room for moderation, dialogue or consensus around even routine issues. The march to the partisan battlelines -- some argue -- starts long before a candidate is sworn in. It begins during the primary, when extreme views draw audiences and media attention away from the moderate middle. Today, we’re prodding one of New Hampshire’s sacred cows by asking whether it’s time to dramatically reforming the way we do primaries.

From the early days of the 2012 primary, influential liberals referred to Jon Hunstman, U.S. Ambassador to China, and Singapore before that, as “the sane Republican”. Huntsman’s foreign policy chops and statesmen-like manner were frequently cited during his brief run, often by the candidate himself.

A handful of state senate races proved competitive in Tuesday’s primary.

It’s difficult to see a trend in the statewide legislative results says political analyst Dean Spiliotis.

There clearly are some races in which the tea party energy and conservatives seem to be winning out, but there also a number of races that we’re seeing in which more moderate incumbents are staying in through the primary.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of last night was not that Democrat Jackie Cilley lost to her rival Maggie, Hassan, but by how big a margin. What was supposed to be a close race turned out to be a run-away.

This primary season the question has been: will democrats elect a candidate who hasn’t pledged to veto an income or sales tax? From the outset, Cilley has made not taking such a pledge the centerpiece of her campaign.

But with the very first poll returns it was clear that Cilley was in for a rough night. Later she took the podium to concede the race.

If Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jackie Cilley thought being a Berlin native would give her a crucial edge in the North Country she was wrong.

Cilley did win in Berlin but her 546 votes were only 56 percent of the total.

Down the road in neighboring Gorham she snared 55 percent of the votes.

But it was downhill from there despite spending five consecutive days touring the North Country from Littleton to Colebrook and Pittsburg and then over to Berlin and the communities along the Androscoggin River.

If you haven’t heard that Republican congressmen Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta are facing primary challenges, you’re far from alone. At least, that’s according to a recent Granite State Poll.

Representative Frank Guinta faces one challenger, while fellow Republican Charlie Bass has four people vying for his slot on the November ballot. But University of New Hampshire pollster Andy Smith says more than nine out of ten constituents have no idea who these would-be contenders are.

After a long campaign season of caucuses and primaries, attack ads, and Super PACs, many have noticed significant changes. This year, we've seen many more debates, an explosion in the use of digital media, and a decline of retail politics. Is this a troubling trend or the new reality for choosing a President?

Historically, young people have been much less likely to vote than older Americans.

That trend has started to change in the past few presidential election cycles, especially in 2008, when a census report found that 49 percent of those ages 18 to 24 who were eligible to vote participated in the presidential election.

One of the defining elements of the 2012 presidential campaign is money. Not that the candidates themselves have raised all that much; except for President Obama, they haven't. But two dozen wealthy Americans have put in at least $1 million each.

Mostly, they're a mix of Wall Street financiers and entrepreneurs. One of the biggest donors is Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate who is worth about $25 billion.